Reporting Home
by SunInHerSmile
Summary: Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to New York state and White Plains Westchester County Airport. For Raleigh Anne Edwards, those were some of the most beautiful words she had ever heard. Featuring the McMahons, HHH, Cena, Orton, Rock, and many others


Disclaimer: I don't own the WWE, and I don't own any of their superstars named herein. This is a work of fiction and in no way is meant to reflect the actual reality of these superstar's lives.

**For the record, I am looking for a beta reader for this and all of my other stories. If you are interested, please leave a note in a review or e-mail me._  
_**

* * *

**_Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to New York state and White Plains Westchester County Airport. The local time is 7:19 PM and the temperature is 60°. The evening skies are partly cloudy with a slight breeze coming from the North. Please stay seated until the aircraft comes to a complete stop and the pilot has turned off the seat belt sign. Take care to remove all personal belongings from underneath the seats and the overhead compartments.  
On behalf of United Airlines, we hope you have a great time in White Plains, be it brief or long, and we look forward to serving you again._**

If it wouldn't have made her look like a deranged woman, Raleigh Anne Edwards would have jumped out of her seat and done cartwheels up and down the aisle of the Canadian Regional Jet 700 she had just spent the last 2 hours on. Finally, 35+ hours of traveling had paid off and she was back in the country she hadn't been in for over 3 months, and the state she hadn't been in since May. Thank god her parents had demanded she return for her 25th birthday or else Raleigh's work focused mind wouldn't have been able to rationalize the month of vacation time she was taking to spend time with her family, plus the other decision about work that she had made, but thinking about that was going to have to wait. Right now, all she cared about was getting all her shit together and getting off this plane.

It wasn't that she minded traveling, far from it, she just was very sick of it at the moment. It wouldn't have been so bad if she had just been able to leave Venezuela after her interview with Hugo Chavez and come straight to Connecticut, but Raleigh had been called to London to attend a meeting about the direction the International News Corporation, the highest rated cable news network in America and the channel Raleigh reported for, was going. While the meeting had produced the result that she wanted, Raleigh would have been much happier about it if it had taken place at another time and another place.

_"I mean really, why the hell did they have to have it in London? That isn't even where the main office is! Next thing you know they'll be having meetings on flights to Fiji, and I'll get sent home as soon as we land!" _Raleigh mentally complained as she threw her Louis Vuitton keepall onto her shoulder and grabbed her purse. Pulling her hat down, she slipped out of her seat and started to head the few feet up to the open doors of the airplane. Just a few more minutes, and she would be in the airport that she had spent so much time in as a child. But before that could happen, she had to get through the flight crew.

Apparently, Raleigh was considered by airlines to be a VIP passenger, something she wasn't entirely comfortable with. They tended to be extra nice to her because of her labeled status, and also because they thought that if they weren't, she was going to do a scathing piece about the airline on INC and get them all fired. True, sometimes she actually considered doing that to some of the less customer-friendly establishments, but Raleigh had many years ago decided that the only news she would ever cover was "hard" news, and pieces on customer-service issues were not in her approved list. So, she would bite back her anger and continue on with her life, but not without passing her issue onto one of the other INC department.

Just because she wouldn't do the piece, didn't mean she wouldn't want anyone else to.

Laughing to herself, Raleigh came up to the group of flight attendants that were waiting at the door.

"Did you enjoy your flight Ms. Edwards?"

"It was fantastic Danielle. Thank you so much for those chips, I don't think I could have dealt with another bag of pretzels!" Raleigh joked, eliciting a laugh from the young redheaded stewardess.

"I'm glad I could help you, and I hope you'll fly with us again!"

"Well, I'll be sure to tell the travel department to book me with you guys whenever they can." Raleigh replied.

"I'm glad to hear that Ms. Edwards." Edna, the senior flight attendant on the plane, as well as just a senior in general, declared. Edna was not on Raleigh's list of favorite people. The entire flight, she had been trying to push her way into any conversation that Raleigh was having, be it with the rest of the flight crew or the nice guy who had sat next to her, who had been a huge fan of Raleigh's work covering Iraq and Afghanistan back in 2003 when she still worked at Channel One. Edna was trying too hard to get on Raleigh's good side, which usually meant that she was aiming for something that involved her and television time. "We really enjoyed having you, and we hoped you enjoyed the new safety program the airline is trying out," Edna shifted, moving in a way that Raleigh's trained eye in nonverbal communication identified as her moving to become more persuasive, "You know, we are the only flight that has this new program, and it really is proving to be quite successful and effective. I'm sure it's something that frequent airplane travelers would want to hear about. If you-"

"You know, I bet they would also LOVE to hear who makes that fantastic perfume you're wearing." Edna was cut off by the loud voice of Cliff, the other flight attendant on the plane and a fantastic judge of fashion and the need for rescuing.

"Oh, thank you Cliff," Raleigh enthusiastically said, obviously turning her attention to the smiling guy. "It's nothing really special, just some Euphoria by Calvin Kline and Fantasy by Britney Spears mixed together"

"Well it smells wonderful," He told her, his smile more about the fact that Edna was sulking behind him then about Raleigh's perfume choice. Out of the corner of her eye, Raleigh could make out Edna getting ready to pounce again, something she in no way shape or form wanted to deal with.

"Would you all let that poor woman get off the plane? You're holding up the 50 other people trying to get off!" The voice of the pilot, now standing in the cockpit doorway, startled Edna and caused Raleigh to sigh in relief. Quickly, before any other conversations could start, Raleigh said her good-byes to the flight crew and made her way into the terminal.

Once she entered the terminal, she walked over to the coffee shop that she always stopped at when she was at the airport, and sat down at one of the tables. Drinking her flavored concoction, she looked around at the airport and remembered the times she had been there as a child.

_A four year old Raleigh tugged on her older brother's hand; causing him to focus his attention away from waving over their disembarking parents and focus on his young charge._

_"I can't see Momma and Daddy" She told him sadly._

_"Well, we're just gonna have to fix that" He told her before he scooped her up into his arms and raised her up above the heads of the other people crowded around the arrivals gate._

_"See Ral, they're over there" Her eyes followed her sister's pointing hand and soon she could see the face of her Father and the top of her Mother's head._

_"DADDY!" She gleefully yelled out, causing many people to turn around, most of them smiling at the little girl who was obviously very happy to see her Father. Not being able to contain her excitement, Raleigh started to wiggle, trying to get out of her brother's arms. Unable to contain her without getting hit in the face and kicked in the chest, he put her down on the ground, giving her the opportunity to make a break for it and start running over to her parents. At first she couldn't see them, but after a couple of quick dives around people's legs, she could make out her Father, who was now crouched down waiting for her. She ran even faster, and once she got close enough, she hurled herself into his outstretched arms._

* * *

_"Momma, I'm scared of the airplane." Six year old Raleigh mumbled against her pink yarn security blanket as she nervously sat in her seat, waiting for the flight she and her mother were taking to Atlanta to begin boarding. Her Mother, who had just barely made out what Raleigh had said, soothingly rubbed the girl's back, wondering why exactly she was scared this time and not the many other times she had traveled on airplanes_

_"What are you scared of baby?"_

_"THE MONKEY ON THE WING!!!!" Raleigh screamed out, causing everyone else in the lounge to turn and stare. Her Mother looked uneasily at everyone who was now watching them._

_"Kids." She said, getting nods and smiles of understanding from everyone before they returned to what they were doing before. Looking back at her daughter, all she could see of the little girl's face was her chin; the rest was covered by her trusted blanket. "Sweetie, what monkey are you talking about?"_

_"The one on the TV show with Captain Kirk! The Trylight Zone!" Raleigh answered, moving her blanket from her face just long enough to get out the two sentences, before quickly returning it._

_"Darling, you know the things that you see on TV aren't real." She didn't even want to get into the discussion with the little girl that she shouldn't have even been watching the Twilight Zone. That was a conversation she would be having with her son, who had watched Raleigh the night before and more than likely had used television as an easy way to keep the rambunctious child occupied._

_"But, but, but…" The little girl put her blanket down as she became excited, eager to explain to her mother why the show was, in fact, real. "They showed, at the ending, that stuff really did happen to the plane!"_

_"No, sweetie, that wasn't real either."_

_"Really Momma?"_

_"Really sweetie," Her mother put her arms around her and pulled her into her lap, "And you know not to worry, because I'll never let anything happen to you." She placed a kiss on her daughter's head._

_"I love you Momma" Raleigh said, now content with the idea of flying._

_"I love you too Raleigh."_

Shaking her head at the memories that came to mind, Raleigh gathered her things up and then threw her now empty cup away. Heading towards the baggage claim area, Raleigh peeked into the keepall she had on her shoulder, checking to make sure that everything was still in the bag. Out of everything she took traveling with her, this bag and its contents were the most important. As she was about to do a mental checklist of the items within, a voice startled her and caused her to forget about what she was doing and look up. There, standing about 20 feet in front of her was the girl that made Raleigh extremely happy that she had graduated high school 2 years early.

Alisa Donovan had been the stereotypical preppy bitch as long as Raleigh had known her. She was rude, crass, and obnoxious as hell and ridiculed all who weren't members of her group of teen queen wannabes and the boys that loved them. The only people that she wasn't bitchy to were those that could get her something, be it money, fame or what have you. Raleigh just knew that if Alisa saw her, she would be stuck in the airport for the next hour, having to deal with Alisa kissing her ass in order to get some TV time or an invite to hang out with Raleigh and one of her celebrity friends.

Quickly, Raleigh slipped on her pair of Chanel shades and pulled her hat down further, all the while thinking of the best path to take around the enemy. Luckily for her, Alisa had started chatting up some guy about whatever was being shown on the television screen mounted on the ceiling of the airport, but Raleigh remembered Alisa to have cat-like vision, and knew that if she did anything that might attract attention, Alisa would lock onto her like a hawk that spotted a mouse from the sky. Taking every precaution she could think of to in no way attract attention to herself, Raleigh started to walk again, trying to avoid the left side of the terminal at all costs. All the while, she had to deal with hearing Alisa's annoyingly loud voice which seemed to radiate throughout the building.

"Yeah, I went to school with that girl on the TV, and we were like best friends, we still are really." Alisa said to her gentleman friend.

"Really?"

"Oh yeah, we hang out all the time. She actually comes to me for advice about her career and about the people she is going to talk to. Like, just the other day, I helped her so much with this interview," Raleigh's head popped up at Alisa's words, "she wouldn't have had anything to say to him if it wasn't for me."

Raleigh almost didn't want to look up at the TV, she almost just wanted to keep up the delusion that it was someone other than herself that Alisa was talking about, but unfortunately Raleigh's truth seeking mind wouldn't allow for that to happen, and she gazed up at the TV that was currently showing her interview with the Venezuelan president.

Now, Raleigh was well aware of the fact that she should really just leave well-enough alone and continue on, but Raleigh had very much inherited her father's love for revenge and confrontation, which kept her from doing the rational thing. Plus, the way she viewed it, fate had really wanted her to confront the lying bitch, because the pair just happened to be standing in front of a rack of complimentary newspapers, giving Raleigh a very convenient way of breaking into the conversation.

Very carefully, Raleigh took off her shades and placed them in her purse, her hat joining them a moment later. Running her fingers through her hair to rid it of hat-head, she made her way over to the twosome, who were still talking away. _"This is too easy"_ Raleigh thought as she moved to start her plan.

"Excuse me, would you mind moving? I'd really like a newspaper." The two of them turned around, both looking a bit pissed off and ready to tell her about it, but once they saw who it was, their faces changed. The guy had a strange mix of dumbstruck and excited, obviously expecting Alisa to give him an introduction. Alisa, on the other hand, was purely dumbstruck, never expecting that she would get caught in one of her lies. Raleigh feigned innocent and simply looked back and forth between the unmoving pair and the newspaper rack.

"Ummmm…" Raleigh gestured at the rack, causing the couple to part and let her grab the newspaper.

"Why is she ignoring you? I mean, that is a pretty shitty way to treat someone who couched you on an interview with-" The man was cut off as Alisa roughly clasped her hand over the guy's mouth, unfortunately too late to keep Raleigh from furthering her plan. Repressing the maniacal grin that looked so much like her father's, Raleigh fixed on a confused face and turned around.

"Excuse me, but are you talking about?" Raleigh questioned the man who by now had removed Alisa's hand from his mouth.

"What I'm talking about is how you are completely ignoring someone who has helped you so much in life-"

"Sir, I'm really sorry to burst your bubble, but I have never met this woman in my life." Raleigh told him.

"Oh, don't you lie!" Alisa declared as she put her hands on her hips, ready for a showdown. Raleigh pretended to look hard at Alisa's face, before she pulled back, a look of recollection on her face.

"You're right, I do know her!" Alisa smiled in vindication, "She's the girl that terrorized my high school and called me a big-lip freak." Her smile quickly turned into one of shock, and the guy that was once standing next to her in a sign of solidarity had now stepped back, glaring at Alisa. Not sure what to do, Alisa simply looked back and forth between the two people, completely flabbergasted that she had been caught in a lie.

"Alisa, I can't believe you! You lied to me! How much more stuff have you lied to me about!"

"Robert…. It's not what you think, I mean…" Alisa by now was completely ignoring Raleigh and paying sole attention to the man, apparently named Robert, who had also forgotten Raleigh was still there.

"Well, you know, I think I'm just going to go leave now…" Raleigh trailed off as she slowly started to walk backwards. When either of the two said anything in acknowledgement, Raleigh turned and began heading again to baggage claim, a very satisfied smirk on her face.

* * *

"Excuse me," Raleigh called out to the man standing in the office near baggage claim, "I can't seem to find my bags anywhere." By the time Raleigh had made it to the baggage claim, her flights luggage had been taken off the carousel, so she had to search for it. So far, she wasn't having any luck. 

"What flight?" The man asked, leaning back in his office chair to get a better view of the girl he was helping.

"United Flight 6274"

"Well, I remember there being two big suitcases-"

"Yep, those were mine."

"-that were red and black, but that guy sitting over there took them." The man pointed over to the back of the building where a man was sitting in a row of seats, his back turned to them, and next to him were the two suitcases. Raleigh looked at them from a second, and then looked back at the gentleman she was now mentally referring to as "baggage dude".

"Yeah, those are mine." She told him, causing him to simply shrug his shoulders and go back to whatever he was doing before. Raleigh pursed her lips in frustration before turning around and heading over to the guy that had taken her luggage.

"Okay, just be calm and ask for your bags back," Raleigh told herself, "And if he doesn't, then you can go violent on his ass." However, before she could even get as far as first contact with the man, he proceeded to talk.

"You know, for a person who makes their living on observations, your skills are pretty shitty NC." Raleigh simply stopped in her tracks and stared as the guy turned towards her and revealed the last person she expected to see right then; The Executive Vice President of Global Media at the WWE, and her brother, Shane McMahon.

* * *

I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter. As you can tell, Raleigh is in fact a McMahon, but why she doesn't go by the last name is something for the next few chapters. Anyway, give me your thoughts and your opinions. What do you think of Raleigh? Does she seem like a McMahon? Plus, what superstar, past or present, would you like to see her get involved with. I have a few ideas, and I hope you will go cast a vote in the poll I've set up over in the forum for this story. 

**Just a reminder, I am looking for a good beta reader for this story, please e-mail me at "sweethomenc at gmail dot com" if you are interested.**


End file.
